Well, it looks like our whole team is off to the coast for five days to work at a school! It's going to be interesting. This won't be a very long post because I have to pack for it still, and I need to finish my laundry. I'll just give you a bit of an update on what's happening.
I've finished my first placement, and it was so amazing...I'm going to miss it there so much! The kids were awesome, and on the last day I was able to go with the two older classes on a field trip...like a real field trip. We went to Springfield, a community complete with no electricity, a school where the boys and girls have separate entrances, and where the men drop their work and help eachother raise barns. To top it all off, we had to take a five mile trek into the heart of the jungle on horrible roads, and i was sitting in the back of a pickup truck. While we were there we climbed a mountain...literally. I was rather scared for my life, and to get to the mountain we had to walk through a cow pasture. My poor poor pants and flip flops...but it was really cool to see the view at the top! After that we drove to the Blue Hole and to the cave I was just at last Saturday, but it was still neat to do with all the students.
This weekend our whole team took a break...we spent our time doing laundry and swimming in our pool that is finally up and running! Yesterday and today the whole team has been hard at work around the base...organizing a vbs program we're hosting here next week (I'm doing arts and crafts with Rachel and Aislin) and we've been doing general maintenance around the base too. We've been scrubbing walls, bleaching sidewalks, sweeping dorms, the whole nine yards. On Monday I was moving a pile of wood to the burn pile, and when I was almost at the bottom I lifted a plank of wood and underneath it was a big...black and orange...hairy...TARANTULA! I kind of yelled...a lot. Then John, who works at YWAM, poked it with a stick and it started running and he squished it. It wasn't pleasant, let me tell you. The worst part is that it was only a baby, and where I had found it there was a dead one that it had been feeding on. EW.
My first experience with a tarantula! I can't believe it took a whole month for me to see one. But I almost TOUCHED it. EW.
So next week we're running the VBS program here, and then after that I'm beginning my second three-week placement. I'm going to be working at King's Children's Home with Aislin. It's really close to the base so I'm going to be living at YWAM during that time. It's going to be pretty fun actually...but I'm not too excited about the cold showers.
That's about it from me! Oh, and I'm seventeen tomorrow!! yay!
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Photos!
Here's a taste of my first placement...in picture form! (Also some randoms I decided to throw in)
^Here are my Grade Ones...we do flash cards after lunch...
^...and here are my Grade Twos. We also do flash cards, but I make them stand farther away from me because they tend to spit when they say their answers. Kelvin, on the right, likes to roll his "r" when he says "three" which is pretty cool to hear.
^This is Jeffry...I help him with his English work. We're pals.
^Connie, on the right, is the girl who I do algebra with. She's a ton of fun and she's also learning how to do her math from my help...which is very rewarding for me : )
^Here's some students from Mr. Milton's class who I do art with. They were the only ones who finished their work for the day so there were only three participating that week. We painted rocks!
^Here's my art class from this Tuesday. I was rather short on supplies so I used my imagination and we made curves on our papers by drawing only straight lines...and they all surprised me by their awesome results. They never have art class so I loved being able to give them that chance!
^I was in an artsy mood one day...and the hibiscus here are slowly wilting, so I thought I'd take advantage before it was too late and draw one. I drew it really quickly and it was windy outside...so it's a little rough, but I like it.
^I was tired yesterday afternoon, so I took a nap. Somehow my camera was underneath my arm, and left a nice little imprint. Don't ask my why I'm putting this up here...I just thought it was funny.
Read more about my placement in the massive post I made below...
^Here are my Grade Ones...we do flash cards after lunch...
^...and here are my Grade Twos. We also do flash cards, but I make them stand farther away from me because they tend to spit when they say their answers. Kelvin, on the right, likes to roll his "r" when he says "three" which is pretty cool to hear.
^This is Jeffry...I help him with his English work. We're pals.
^Connie, on the right, is the girl who I do algebra with. She's a ton of fun and she's also learning how to do her math from my help...which is very rewarding for me : )
^Here's some students from Mr. Milton's class who I do art with. They were the only ones who finished their work for the day so there were only three participating that week. We painted rocks!
^Here's my art class from this Tuesday. I was rather short on supplies so I used my imagination and we made curves on our papers by drawing only straight lines...and they all surprised me by their awesome results. They never have art class so I loved being able to give them that chance!
^I was in an artsy mood one day...and the hibiscus here are slowly wilting, so I thought I'd take advantage before it was too late and draw one. I drew it really quickly and it was windy outside...so it's a little rough, but I like it.
^I was tired yesterday afternoon, so I took a nap. Somehow my camera was underneath my arm, and left a nice little imprint. Don't ask my why I'm putting this up here...I just thought it was funny.
Read more about my placement in the massive post I made below...
Monday, March 19, 2007
Life in Spanish Lookout...week three.
Here's the post I've been promising everyone! My laptop is somewhat up and running, so I'm pretty happy about that. It's not perfect...there's still a blue screen that shows up, but then the computer automatically restarts itself, and all is well again. I'm not sure what to think, but now it's alive for long enough that I can actually upload all of my pictures! I don't trust this computer yet, so they're all going onto a flash drive, and the good ones I'm keeping on my memory card. I can only take 9 more, so I was in desperate need of putting those pictures somewhere.
Now, I'll update you on life here in Spanish Lookout. It's hard to believe that we're already working on our third week! This past week flew by...I guess it's true that the first week is long and then the rest goes quickly. I only have one week left of my first of three placements. This past weekend we spent Saturday in Blue Hole National Park, in which is a 25 ft. deep water hole (aka the “Blue Hole”)in the middle of the jungle. The water is a misty tourquoise colour. It's not the Blue Hole in the ocean though...that would be scary to visit! (Google it if you've never heard of it) One mile down the road there's a massive cave, which we explored first. It was about 300 yards long to walk into, but then you could swim farther in. We all had our bathing suits on, so we didn't pass up the opportunity. I won't say it wasn't scary, especially since at some points the ceiling came a little low and there was no natural light in sight. We lit the way by a few flashlights, and just the fact that we were so far underground and swimming was a scary thought. We swam as far as the water could take us, up to the point where we couldn't really fit anymore. I loved every second of it though.
I have four days left at Roseglen Christian School. It's sad that it's almost over already! This past week I've being giving a lot of math help, as well as doing flashcards with the grade one and two students. I'm so used to being addressed as 'Miss Elena' now! The way they pronounce it is really cool too! I also help kids my age with their math as well, and they're all asking me if I'm going to come along with them on their school field trip on Friday. The field trip is a daytrip to a very very conservative community (It's like the Amish, but they aren't the Amish...they're something else.) Those are all the details I know, but they all really want me to come along and the principal said it was my call...I could go if I wanted to! Naturally, I said yes. I don't want to pass up any opportunities on this trip. Yesterday was the last day of the third quarter in their school year, so they were really busy. I was marking tests for teachers, testing students...all this in thirty plus weather. The school has an outdoor concept, with each classroom kind of like a cabin, and you need to walk from one to the next. I really like it because I'm getting so much fresh air here. I've never been outside so much!
Another thing I do at the school is teach art to Mr. Milton's class on Tuesday afternoons. It was a bit of a last minute thing, so for the first week the only thing I had on hand was some origami paper and books that my Mom sent with me to make some cool things for kids when I work at the children's home. But, it looked as though I was short on options, so I went with that. We ended up making two projects, one that I can't explain...you'd need to see it to understand it. The other one we made was a helicopter...and just seeing them all turn out and seeing the kids run outside and toss them in the air was so rewarding. They hadn't had much in the way of art classes, so I think they appreciated it, and I liked being able to show someone else how to fold paper, and that it's actually a pretty cool thing!
This week in art, only three students were done their schoolwork, so what we did was we went down to the parking lot and collected some nice flat rocks. We painted them, and then we wrote Bible verses or little things like “Jesus Rocks” (on a rock...). Then what you do with them is you put them out on the roadside, so that people walking on the road see them and see the Bible verses! It's a cool idea...Mrs. Hein gave it to me because I was trying to think of ideas the night before. This upcoming week we might weave baskets with paper...we'll have to see what happens. Monday nights are usually when I work all that out.
Life at my host family has been really good too! Meghan and I were pretty busy this week...there was no school on Monday because of the national holiday Baron Bliss day (look it up...it's pretty interesting!), so we were dropped off at the Heins' house at around lunchtime. The whole afternoon I spent catching up in my diary, which I am unfortunately falling behind in again. I write too much, but there's so much to write about! That's why I'm thankful this computer is up and running because I type faster than I write.
At night we're very busy. Tuesday nights we teach a kids church while the adults watch a DVD message, and that can get pretty tiring. The first time we did it was rather eventful. We had a whole bunch of kids, we had to do a puppet skit with “Gladly the Bear” (needless to say, it was hard to keep a straight face during that) and then a bird got in the room. Meghan and I ran out of the room, while the kids all cornered the bird...obviously not freaked out at all.
Wednesday nights are Bible Study. Bible Study consists of singing a few songs before we begin, and then we meet in groups outside to discuss the previous lesson. The thing is that the youth don't talk much, so it's hard to get answers out of them. It's still interesting though, because we've met a few really neat youth here.
Thursday is volleyball night. All the youth get together and play volleyball and soccer. This week we played volleyball for two solid hours. I always forget until I actually start playing that I'm horrible at volleyball. I played anyways, and the youth all play by their own rules. They have the whole 'three hits' thing down, but most of their plays involve more lifts than anything else. Some people are really good though...a few were on my team and they hogged the ball.
Fridays when we come home from school we quickly shower, pack, clean up our rooms, and meet at the dairy for some ice cream and to be picked up by our bus with squeaky brakes. Oh, and on Monday morning when we were going to all be dropped off at our placements, our bus wouldn't start. It looked as though we'd paid ten thousand dollars for a bus that worked for only a week. It did start thank goodness, and it's been working ever since.
Last weekend was pretty awesome. On Saturday March 10, I spent the day at Southwater Caye, a little tropical island resort that probably only had about 50 people on the entire island. The first thing I did was go snorkeling in the Caribbean Sea! Unfortunately, when I first jumped into the water I forgot it was salty seawater, and I got a good mouthful of it. It was all worth it though, when I looked under the water. The coral reef wasn't as colourful as I'd expected, but I still loved it! There were these big purple meshy kind of plants that looked like big fans and I was so tempted to touch one, but I didn't, or else they apparently die. I also saw fish! Blue ones, rainbow coloured ones, a coral fish(but he was shy and only poked his nose out of his hiding spot) and two barracudas! I stayed away from them though. We did that for about half an hour, and then the next group went. The remainder of the day was spent tanning out on the docks, eating some really good rice, taking picture of the island, and drinking coke out of glass bottles! The whole time I was thinking “I wonder what everyone will say when I show them pictures of this place!” I still can't believe I was actually there...a tropcial island! The speedboat ride was also pretty fun too, but on the way I was up at the front...and I didn't do that again. I didn't know just how hard that boat crashes down on the water every time it hits a bit wave. The ride was also half an hour long, so by the end...I had a bit of a sore backside!
Ok...the dead chicken incident. Meghan and I were going to bed pretty late a few nights ago...like around twelve. I was just walking into our room and Meghan said to me “Do you smell that?”
Sure enough, it reeked...like the smell of slaughtered chickens, courtesy of the chicken killing plant just down the road. We closed windows, turned on the fan, and tried to find anything we could that smelled nicer than the smell of dead poultry. I guess we made a bit of noise, because Mrs. Hein came in and...realized the situation. She gave us a solution...kids cherry-scented vicks to put under our noses. We slept very nicely after that. Another thing that we did this week was sleep outside in the hammocks. She accomplished it, I...attempted it. We got in them at around eleven, and for about two and a half hours I tried to sleep. Meghan had the more comfortable hammock, and the oil refineries surrounding Spanish Lookout light up the sky. Everyone has dogs, and they all wake up at night. And bark. Plus, I smelled dead chickens. I looked at my options. Stay out here with Meghan and try to sleep, probably with no luck, or go inside and get at least a few hours in, but leave Meghan outside. I chose inside. Meghan slept through the whole night out there...and she said she's never had such a comfortable sleep. I guess hammocks aren't for everyone.
I feel like I'm running out of things to say, but there's still so much on my mind. This blog post has been hanging over me for the past week though...as well as the need to email everyone again. I really need to send out another email, and I'm hoping to do that this weekend. If there's anyone who wants me to add them to my list of people to email to, just leave a comment on my blog or send me an email...and I'll add you! (It's eknibbe28@hotmail.com)
I'm sorry that it took so long to update this again. There's so much happening with me that it's difficult to collect my thoughts in word form. I hope this will do for now : ) Thank you all again for your support and prayers. Even though I'm only working on my third week, I can already tell this is going to be an experience I'll never forget.
Now, I'll update you on life here in Spanish Lookout. It's hard to believe that we're already working on our third week! This past week flew by...I guess it's true that the first week is long and then the rest goes quickly. I only have one week left of my first of three placements. This past weekend we spent Saturday in Blue Hole National Park, in which is a 25 ft. deep water hole (aka the “Blue Hole”)in the middle of the jungle. The water is a misty tourquoise colour. It's not the Blue Hole in the ocean though...that would be scary to visit! (Google it if you've never heard of it) One mile down the road there's a massive cave, which we explored first. It was about 300 yards long to walk into, but then you could swim farther in. We all had our bathing suits on, so we didn't pass up the opportunity. I won't say it wasn't scary, especially since at some points the ceiling came a little low and there was no natural light in sight. We lit the way by a few flashlights, and just the fact that we were so far underground and swimming was a scary thought. We swam as far as the water could take us, up to the point where we couldn't really fit anymore. I loved every second of it though.
I have four days left at Roseglen Christian School. It's sad that it's almost over already! This past week I've being giving a lot of math help, as well as doing flashcards with the grade one and two students. I'm so used to being addressed as 'Miss Elena' now! The way they pronounce it is really cool too! I also help kids my age with their math as well, and they're all asking me if I'm going to come along with them on their school field trip on Friday. The field trip is a daytrip to a very very conservative community (It's like the Amish, but they aren't the Amish...they're something else.) Those are all the details I know, but they all really want me to come along and the principal said it was my call...I could go if I wanted to! Naturally, I said yes. I don't want to pass up any opportunities on this trip. Yesterday was the last day of the third quarter in their school year, so they were really busy. I was marking tests for teachers, testing students...all this in thirty plus weather. The school has an outdoor concept, with each classroom kind of like a cabin, and you need to walk from one to the next. I really like it because I'm getting so much fresh air here. I've never been outside so much!
Another thing I do at the school is teach art to Mr. Milton's class on Tuesday afternoons. It was a bit of a last minute thing, so for the first week the only thing I had on hand was some origami paper and books that my Mom sent with me to make some cool things for kids when I work at the children's home. But, it looked as though I was short on options, so I went with that. We ended up making two projects, one that I can't explain...you'd need to see it to understand it. The other one we made was a helicopter...and just seeing them all turn out and seeing the kids run outside and toss them in the air was so rewarding. They hadn't had much in the way of art classes, so I think they appreciated it, and I liked being able to show someone else how to fold paper, and that it's actually a pretty cool thing!
This week in art, only three students were done their schoolwork, so what we did was we went down to the parking lot and collected some nice flat rocks. We painted them, and then we wrote Bible verses or little things like “Jesus Rocks” (on a rock...). Then what you do with them is you put them out on the roadside, so that people walking on the road see them and see the Bible verses! It's a cool idea...Mrs. Hein gave it to me because I was trying to think of ideas the night before. This upcoming week we might weave baskets with paper...we'll have to see what happens. Monday nights are usually when I work all that out.
Life at my host family has been really good too! Meghan and I were pretty busy this week...there was no school on Monday because of the national holiday Baron Bliss day (look it up...it's pretty interesting!), so we were dropped off at the Heins' house at around lunchtime. The whole afternoon I spent catching up in my diary, which I am unfortunately falling behind in again. I write too much, but there's so much to write about! That's why I'm thankful this computer is up and running because I type faster than I write.
At night we're very busy. Tuesday nights we teach a kids church while the adults watch a DVD message, and that can get pretty tiring. The first time we did it was rather eventful. We had a whole bunch of kids, we had to do a puppet skit with “Gladly the Bear” (needless to say, it was hard to keep a straight face during that) and then a bird got in the room. Meghan and I ran out of the room, while the kids all cornered the bird...obviously not freaked out at all.
Wednesday nights are Bible Study. Bible Study consists of singing a few songs before we begin, and then we meet in groups outside to discuss the previous lesson. The thing is that the youth don't talk much, so it's hard to get answers out of them. It's still interesting though, because we've met a few really neat youth here.
Thursday is volleyball night. All the youth get together and play volleyball and soccer. This week we played volleyball for two solid hours. I always forget until I actually start playing that I'm horrible at volleyball. I played anyways, and the youth all play by their own rules. They have the whole 'three hits' thing down, but most of their plays involve more lifts than anything else. Some people are really good though...a few were on my team and they hogged the ball.
Fridays when we come home from school we quickly shower, pack, clean up our rooms, and meet at the dairy for some ice cream and to be picked up by our bus with squeaky brakes. Oh, and on Monday morning when we were going to all be dropped off at our placements, our bus wouldn't start. It looked as though we'd paid ten thousand dollars for a bus that worked for only a week. It did start thank goodness, and it's been working ever since.
Last weekend was pretty awesome. On Saturday March 10, I spent the day at Southwater Caye, a little tropical island resort that probably only had about 50 people on the entire island. The first thing I did was go snorkeling in the Caribbean Sea! Unfortunately, when I first jumped into the water I forgot it was salty seawater, and I got a good mouthful of it. It was all worth it though, when I looked under the water. The coral reef wasn't as colourful as I'd expected, but I still loved it! There were these big purple meshy kind of plants that looked like big fans and I was so tempted to touch one, but I didn't, or else they apparently die. I also saw fish! Blue ones, rainbow coloured ones, a coral fish(but he was shy and only poked his nose out of his hiding spot) and two barracudas! I stayed away from them though. We did that for about half an hour, and then the next group went. The remainder of the day was spent tanning out on the docks, eating some really good rice, taking picture of the island, and drinking coke out of glass bottles! The whole time I was thinking “I wonder what everyone will say when I show them pictures of this place!” I still can't believe I was actually there...a tropcial island! The speedboat ride was also pretty fun too, but on the way I was up at the front...and I didn't do that again. I didn't know just how hard that boat crashes down on the water every time it hits a bit wave. The ride was also half an hour long, so by the end...I had a bit of a sore backside!
Ok...the dead chicken incident. Meghan and I were going to bed pretty late a few nights ago...like around twelve. I was just walking into our room and Meghan said to me “Do you smell that?”
Sure enough, it reeked...like the smell of slaughtered chickens, courtesy of the chicken killing plant just down the road. We closed windows, turned on the fan, and tried to find anything we could that smelled nicer than the smell of dead poultry. I guess we made a bit of noise, because Mrs. Hein came in and...realized the situation. She gave us a solution...kids cherry-scented vicks to put under our noses. We slept very nicely after that. Another thing that we did this week was sleep outside in the hammocks. She accomplished it, I...attempted it. We got in them at around eleven, and for about two and a half hours I tried to sleep. Meghan had the more comfortable hammock, and the oil refineries surrounding Spanish Lookout light up the sky. Everyone has dogs, and they all wake up at night. And bark. Plus, I smelled dead chickens. I looked at my options. Stay out here with Meghan and try to sleep, probably with no luck, or go inside and get at least a few hours in, but leave Meghan outside. I chose inside. Meghan slept through the whole night out there...and she said she's never had such a comfortable sleep. I guess hammocks aren't for everyone.
I feel like I'm running out of things to say, but there's still so much on my mind. This blog post has been hanging over me for the past week though...as well as the need to email everyone again. I really need to send out another email, and I'm hoping to do that this weekend. If there's anyone who wants me to add them to my list of people to email to, just leave a comment on my blog or send me an email...and I'll add you! (It's eknibbe28@hotmail.com)
I'm sorry that it took so long to update this again. There's so much happening with me that it's difficult to collect my thoughts in word form. I hope this will do for now : ) Thank you all again for your support and prayers. Even though I'm only working on my third week, I can already tell this is going to be an experience I'll never forget.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
t...a...n...n...e...d...already!
It's been...way too long since I last updated. And...trust me there is much to update. The thing is, my computer still doesn't work, and I'm doing all my internet stuff on the Hein family's home computer. So...naturally I'm going to take a long time to write an update, and I don't want to spend too much time on their computer. This isn't the update yet, but here's what you can look forward to!
-pictures!!!
-more about my placement
-random things that have happened
-Belize life
-a day trip to Southwater Caye! I've already got my summer tan everyone...in MARCH!
and...
-what you do when, at midnight, your bedroom suddenly smells like dead chickens from the chicken killing plant up the road. That was the fun adventure Meghan and I had to deal with last night!
I'm so sorry this has taken so long...I'm counting on that computer so much...
Here's a picture to satisfy all you who want pictures! You can be temporarily satisfied with this one. I took it myself!
-pictures!!!
-more about my placement
-random things that have happened
-Belize life
-a day trip to Southwater Caye! I've already got my summer tan everyone...in MARCH!
and...
-what you do when, at midnight, your bedroom suddenly smells like dead chickens from the chicken killing plant up the road. That was the fun adventure Meghan and I had to deal with last night!
I'm so sorry this has taken so long...I'm counting on that computer so much...
Here's a picture to satisfy all you who want pictures! You can be temporarily satisfied with this one. I took it myself!
Sunday, March 4, 2007
I'm here!
It's already the fourth day of my trip! It's taken a while for me to be able to get a hold of an internet computer and take the time to type this all out. Boy, has there been a lot happening! I'll try and describe it all...we'll see how I do!
So we took our first flight out of Buffalo at six thirty in the morning on Thursday. We took another from Atlanta, and arrived in Cancun at about two-ish. When we got off the plane we were blasted with heat! We then took a coach bus to where our group bus was parked. That ride took a good hour, but there was AC so i took advantage and got some well needed zzzs. Then we got on the bus our group bought (which is a school bus, by the way) and began our twelve hour treck through the Yucatan, out of Mexico and into Belize! We went through the sleepy customs of Belize at about one in the morning. It wasn't too busy! Our last sight of pure American civilization was a quick bite to eat at Burger King.
We arrived at the YWAM base at three thirty on Friday morning. I'd been up for about thirty hours at that point, with no more than about two hours of sleep to my name. It was nice to walk into the house they prepared for us...with a kitchen complete with a stocked fridge and shelves filled to the brim with snacks and ingredients for some tasty meals. We were happy, but tired. The rest was much appreciated!
The next morning I woke up, walked to the front door of the house, and was greeted with the sight of a couple palm trees in the front yard. To the right was a hedge, and behind it is solid jungle. The sound of the crickets is endless...day or night.
The rest of the day was filled with meetings. We learned about the base, about our placements, everything! We also learned the standard food for Belize is rice and beans, just like potatoes are for us dutch! :P
At night I played soccer (or football!) with some kids living on the base whose parents work there. Boy, are they good! They ran us out in ten minutes, and, of course, won the game. That afternoon we had also just received our DSL connection, so everyone was in line for one of the four connections to talk to parents. We also have a phone, so I made a call to my mom to tell her how everything's going.
Another thing our group has come together on was the idea of buying a pool for the base. We're all so hot and not used to the climate that we wanted so badly to swim in the river...anything that was wet! They hadn't cleared a path to the river, and we were getting pretty desperate. So, we asked Kathy, part of YWAM, to see what she could do. She found an inflatable pool available for $500 US. We did the math, and it came out to $30 each! So we all pitched in, and we now own a wonderful pool to use for the next three months, after which we will donate to the base. It will be so nice...considering we're here for the hot season. May will be intensely hot!
The next day I was packed up and ready to go to my first three week placement, which is at Roseglen Christian School. I'm going to be teaching and helping students! I'm staying with a family of two parents and six children, two or which are adopted girls. They're the Hein family, and they are wonderful! They're spoiling Meagan and I here! Their daughters are so much fun and I guess they see us as older sisters!
The food has been amazing, and the hammocks are very very comfortable. Sitting out on the veranda at night is amazing!
So we've been here for just over a day. Today we went to church, and then afterwards we were invited with some youth to go a restaurant they like. I had some of the best chicken wings I've ever eaten in my life there! We talked to them all, especially one girl, Darlene, who's very friendly and energetic...she's basically awesome! Another great thing about Belize is their pop. They have fanta, a brand of pop that just tastes so much better than Canadian and American pop. And pop is so available here...you drink it with anything and everything!
After we ate there, we went back to the church for faspa, which is like a giant picnic at the church. People play sports like "football", baseball, and beach volleyball, and then they all eat together. We spent a few hours there, and a lot of people came up to us and asked us about absolutely everything about us. It was long, but enjoyable. And that brings me to now! This is a very long post. I'll have to cut it off here...thanks everyone for reading this blog faithfully...I'm hoping to get pictures up soon! I'm hoping!
~Elena
ps- the temperature is thirty degrees, and when I wake up I over look a line of palm trees and a grove of orange trees. They're very pretty when the morning sunshine casts shadows. And the oranges taste good too!
So we took our first flight out of Buffalo at six thirty in the morning on Thursday. We took another from Atlanta, and arrived in Cancun at about two-ish. When we got off the plane we were blasted with heat! We then took a coach bus to where our group bus was parked. That ride took a good hour, but there was AC so i took advantage and got some well needed zzzs. Then we got on the bus our group bought (which is a school bus, by the way) and began our twelve hour treck through the Yucatan, out of Mexico and into Belize! We went through the sleepy customs of Belize at about one in the morning. It wasn't too busy! Our last sight of pure American civilization was a quick bite to eat at Burger King.
We arrived at the YWAM base at three thirty on Friday morning. I'd been up for about thirty hours at that point, with no more than about two hours of sleep to my name. It was nice to walk into the house they prepared for us...with a kitchen complete with a stocked fridge and shelves filled to the brim with snacks and ingredients for some tasty meals. We were happy, but tired. The rest was much appreciated!
The next morning I woke up, walked to the front door of the house, and was greeted with the sight of a couple palm trees in the front yard. To the right was a hedge, and behind it is solid jungle. The sound of the crickets is endless...day or night.
The rest of the day was filled with meetings. We learned about the base, about our placements, everything! We also learned the standard food for Belize is rice and beans, just like potatoes are for us dutch! :P
At night I played soccer (or football!) with some kids living on the base whose parents work there. Boy, are they good! They ran us out in ten minutes, and, of course, won the game. That afternoon we had also just received our DSL connection, so everyone was in line for one of the four connections to talk to parents. We also have a phone, so I made a call to my mom to tell her how everything's going.
Another thing our group has come together on was the idea of buying a pool for the base. We're all so hot and not used to the climate that we wanted so badly to swim in the river...anything that was wet! They hadn't cleared a path to the river, and we were getting pretty desperate. So, we asked Kathy, part of YWAM, to see what she could do. She found an inflatable pool available for $500 US. We did the math, and it came out to $30 each! So we all pitched in, and we now own a wonderful pool to use for the next three months, after which we will donate to the base. It will be so nice...considering we're here for the hot season. May will be intensely hot!
The next day I was packed up and ready to go to my first three week placement, which is at Roseglen Christian School. I'm going to be teaching and helping students! I'm staying with a family of two parents and six children, two or which are adopted girls. They're the Hein family, and they are wonderful! They're spoiling Meagan and I here! Their daughters are so much fun and I guess they see us as older sisters!
The food has been amazing, and the hammocks are very very comfortable. Sitting out on the veranda at night is amazing!
So we've been here for just over a day. Today we went to church, and then afterwards we were invited with some youth to go a restaurant they like. I had some of the best chicken wings I've ever eaten in my life there! We talked to them all, especially one girl, Darlene, who's very friendly and energetic...she's basically awesome! Another great thing about Belize is their pop. They have fanta, a brand of pop that just tastes so much better than Canadian and American pop. And pop is so available here...you drink it with anything and everything!
After we ate there, we went back to the church for faspa, which is like a giant picnic at the church. People play sports like "football", baseball, and beach volleyball, and then they all eat together. We spent a few hours there, and a lot of people came up to us and asked us about absolutely everything about us. It was long, but enjoyable. And that brings me to now! This is a very long post. I'll have to cut it off here...thanks everyone for reading this blog faithfully...I'm hoping to get pictures up soon! I'm hoping!
~Elena
ps- the temperature is thirty degrees, and when I wake up I over look a line of palm trees and a grove of orange trees. They're very pretty when the morning sunshine casts shadows. And the oranges taste good too!
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